Places & Travel

In a new podcast series from WNYC and the History Channel, journalists Kai Wright and Lizzy Ratner take us to New York in the mid-'80s, when the HIV virus first took root - so new, it didn't even have a name.

Hundreds of thousands of people, mostly from Central America, arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border each year. In Everyone Who is Gone is Here, Jonathan Blitzer examines the historical roots of the crisis.

New York Times correspondent David Sanger says that Iran and its proxies are posing new challenges: "We're seeing outbreaks of low-level but highly damaging conflict all over the region."

Time correspondent Simon Shuster has been interviewing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy since 2019, when Zelenskyy was still a famous entertainer and satirist. Shuster talks about Zelenskyy's rise to power, the infamous call with Trump that led to Trump's first impeachment, and how the war with Russia has changed him. Shuster's new book is The Showman.

Elliot Ackerman served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, during which time, he says, he witnessed the best and worst that human beings are capable of. Originally broadcast Nov. 11, 2021.

Previte's restaurants serve food inspired by her extensive travels and the home-cooked Lebanese dishes of her childhood. Her new cookbook is Maydān: Recipes from Lebanon and Beyond.

Trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso and guitarist Matt Munisteri, founding members of the NYC band The EarRegulars, play tunes from their new album, Live at the Ear Inn. Originally broadcast Nov. 22, 2023.

Trotter, aka Black Thought, reflects on his childhood in Philly, his decades-long friendship with Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson. Trotter's memoir is The Upcycled Self. Originally broadcast Nov. 7, 2023.

After 22 years of interviews, longtime Fresh Air contributor and fill-in host Dave Davies is cutting back on his workload.

For years Davies has contributed at least one interview a week to Fresh Air, and oftentimes more — especially when the topics concern sports, investigative journalism or history.

Trumpeter Jon-Erik Kellso and guitarist Matt Munisteri, founding members of the NY band The EarRegulars, play tunes from their new album, Live at the Ear Inn.

New Yorker writer Evan Osnos explains the contentious relationship between China and the U.S. and discusses the significance and possible results of Wednesday's meeting between Biden and President Xi.

New York Times journalist Isabel Kershner says before war broke out between Israel and Hamas, it sometimes looked as if Israel was headed toward a civil war. Her new book is The Land of Hope and Fear.

New York Times reporter Mark Mazzetti says prior to Oct. 7, Israel's leadership was focused on an attack by Iran and its proxies —not Hamas. "They were ... myopic about what the true threat was."

Historian Tanisha Ford shares the untold story of Mollie Moon, known as one of the most influential women of the civil rights era in her new book "Our Secret Society: Mollie Moon and the Glamour, Money, and Power Behind The Civil Rights Movement".

Werner Herzog, is a writer and director who makes films about extremes - extreme personalities, predicaments and places. He's written a new memoir called "Every Man For Himself And God Against All," which is also the subtitle of his film "The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser."

"I love the way that Texans talk," Wright says. His novel centers on a naïve rancher who lucks into a seat in the state legislature, where he meets lobbyists, veteran politicians and power brokers.

Terrorism expert Daniel Byman explains the origins of the war between Israel and Hamas, and where it may lead. His books include A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism.

Maryam Keshavarz's new film is called The Persian Version. It’s a fiction film, inspired by Keshavarz’s life and her mother’s. Her parents immigrated to the U.S. in 1969. Keshavarz grew up in New Jersey. Like the character in the film, Keshavarz identifies as bisexual, which her parents considered taboo and unacceptable. About half of the Persian Version is the story of Layla’s mother, growing up in an Iranian country village, and being forced to marry her husband at age 13.

Holes spent more than 20 years investigating crimes in California and played a critical role in identifying the so-called Golden State Killer. His book is Unmasked. Originally broadcast Aug. 10, 2022.

Safiya Sinclair, grew up in a Rasta family in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Her father is a reggae singer and guitarist. Her hair was twisted into dreadlocks until she was 19. She came to realize that for her, being Rasta meant living in a cage. It was through reading and writing poems that she came to better know herself and to break out of the cage and enter the larger world.